Summer is a Good Time to Learn a Second Language

Part 1

Fisher Hill has an excellent series for Spanish speakers to learn English. The series is called English for the Spanish Speaker and consists of four workbooks and four CDs.

Each workbook has eight lessons and a Puzzle Fun section.  In Books 1 and 2, the lessons deal with a common theme, i.e., breakfast, telling time, shopping, going to the bank, etc. In Books 3 and 4, four lessons are about every day activities and the other four are about United States history or government. The print in the workbooks is large. The reading level in Book 1 is at the first and second grade level.  The books get progressively more difficult.  The reading level for Book 4 is at the fourth grade reading level. The lessons are presented in English and then translated into Spanish. All the instructions are in Spanish. Puzzle Fun includes crossword puzzles, jumbles, and word searches.  At the end of each workbook, are two dictionaries: English-Spanish and Spanish-English, as well as an index.

Each lesson is divided into seven parts.  First, there is a vocabulary list.  Beginning English is included as well as the vocabulary of the particular theme.  Then there is a conversation that makes use of the vocabulary in a common situation.  Next is a story related to the theme, which reinforces the vocabulary and the conversation.  The fourth page of each lesson is an exercise that requires choosing a word from the vocabulary list and then completing sentences that are missing one word.  The fifth page requires that the student write the English translation of a Spanish word.  The sixth page requires the pupil to put the vocabulary in alphabetical order. The seventh page deals with English grammar rules and requires the student to write simple sentences in English. The answers to the exercises are at the end of each lesson so that the student will be successful.

From time to time it will be necessary to use words in the conversation or story that are not presented in the vocabulary list.  In this case the student can find the meaning of the word in the accompanying translation, or also in the dictionary at the end of the book.  Sometimes it is not possible to exactly translate an English word into Spanish or vice versa.  These cases will be noted in the dictionary.

Here are some suggestions for the pupil.  It is recommended that the student do one lesson per week, but the pupil can go through the book more rapidly if he or she so desires.  The speed at which the student learns English depends on himself or herself.  It will be useful to read the conversation and story out loud.  This will help the pupil gain smoothness.

Also, the student should listen to television in English.  In the beginning the pupil should listen to ads, cartoons, and news. (The student should be familiar with the news in Spanish.)  It is very important to listen to and speak with Americans.  This will be a great help to the student.  He or she will be able to practice English and also improve his or her accent.  No one is ever going to learn English without practice.  Children learn to speak English quickly, the reason for this being that most children are not bothered by the mistakes they make in speaking. It is important to take advantage of every opportunity to speak.

The student should also buy a Spanish-English and English-Spanish dictionary.  This will be helpful.  Also, this will help the student learn extra words.  The pupil should also have a notebook to write down additional words he or she has learned each week.

Summer is a good time to work on learning a second language Part 1.

If you have any questions about our English for the Spanish  Speaker series please email us at therst.com or go online at www.Fisher-Hill to see all of our workbooks.

Reading and Spelling E-Book

Fisher Hill’s new e-book, Reading and Spelling Book 1, has 20 lessons.  Each lesson introduces a new speech sound except for Lessons 1 and 2 which both work on the short /a/ sound.  In this blog I will talk about how I used this workbook in my class.

How to use this book:

When I was teaching reading and spelling, I spent two days on each new sound. Therefore, the book will take approximately 40 days or two months to complete the book.  The first two lessons in the book target the short /a/ sound so I would spend four days on that sound giving the students a chance to review consonant sounds. I would begin the lesson by flashing sound spelling cards with the consonants and a card with the vowel a. I would then dictate five words from the word list, five words from previous word lists (from the book) and two or three high frequency words. The students would write the words on their whiteboards and then read and spell the words back to me.  The dialogue I would use is this:

Teacher: “Write the word cat.” (Students write the word.) “What word did you write?”

Students say cat.

Teacher: “How do you spell it?”

Students spell the word c-a-t.

Teacher then writes cat on the large white board so all can see it.

I did this with each word.  Then I would dictate two sentences which the students would write and then read back to me.  The dialogue for this would be:

Teacher: “What sentence did you write?”

Students read their sentence.

Teacher then writes the sentence on the large whiteboard.

At the end of this activity, the students would then read the words and sentencesone more time from the large white board. Good sentences for this activity are found on the second or third pages of each lesson.  The teacher flashing sound spelling cards for the children to say and children writing and reading words and sentence every day provides practice for students to develop automaticity in a multisensory way.  The children see the words, say the words, and write the words. Besides flashing the sound spelling cards, I would flash high frequency word cards daily as we progressed through the lessons.  This constant practice every day helps students develop automaticity and fluency.

If you have any questions about our new Reading and Spelling E-Book, please email us at therst.com.  Go online at www.Fisher-Hillto see all of our workbooks.

Fisher Hill’s New E-Book

Fisher Hill’s new E-Book Reading and Spelling Book 1 was written to help students of all ages learn to read and spell. It is especially good for students who may have difficulty learning to read and spell. The workbook uses Orton-Gillingham principles to teach reading and spelling. Orton-Gillingham uses structured, explicit, systematic and multi-sensory procedures to teach the forty-four speech sounds.

Reading and Spelling Book 1 covers the five short vowel sounds, two long vowel sounds, and beginning blends. There are twenty lessons in Book 1. Each lesson has four to five pages. There are also four Reading and Spelling Checks and an Answer Key at the back of the book.

Each lesson begins with a word list that includes words with the targeted sound for that lesson. Many of these words can also be used as vocabulary words.

The next page in the lesson works with high frequency words. These words are often misspelled so they are presented and practiced repeatedly throughout the book.

The third page in the lesson is a fill in the blank page so students can practice using the words from the word list from the first page of the lesson and the high frequency words from the second page of the lesson. There are pictures from the first page of the lesson at the end of some of the fill in the blank sentences since many sentences could have more than one answer. Students use the pictures at the end of the sentence to know which word from the word list to use.

The fourth page of the lesson practices spelling, grammar, vocabulary or writing.

The last page of the lesson ends with a Word Search of the targeted and high frequency words from the lesson.

Visit our store at www.teacherspayteachers.com and search Fisher Hill to access our store for our new e-book Reading and Spelling Book 1.

Reading and Spelling Book 1

Fisher Hill has come out with a new workbook to start a new series. This series will teach reading and spelling to all ages.  Fisher Hill’s previous books have been geared toward Spanish speakers.  This new series will be geared toward anyone who wants to learn how to read and spell in English.  The book will use the Orton Gillingham approach which is a very systematic, explicit, structured approach to teach the forty-four English speech sounds to read and spell.  This series will be especially helpful to students who are just learning to read or who have had difficulty learning to read.  I used the Orton Gillingham approach in my classroom and all students benefited from this approach.

This new series will be e-workbooks.  You will be able to download them from www.teacherspayteachers.com.  Go to the Fisher Hill store to see our first book in the series. Just search Fisher Hill.  When using our workbooks, if you have any questions on how to use them you can email us at [email protected].

Our new series Reading and Spelling will be good for entire classroom use, for older individuals who have not yet learned to read and spell, for home schoolers, or for homework practice.

The workbooks are ready to go. No preparation for the teacher. There is an answer key at the back. There are 115 pages in Reading and Spelling Book 1 and the cost is $15.00.

We hope you like our new series.   Visit our store at www.teacherspayteachers.com and search Fisher Hill to access our store.

English for Legal Residents from Mexico

There are many legal residents in the United States from Mexico who have not yet passed the U.S. Citizenship test because of their lack of English language skills. Fisher Hill has an excellent series called English for the Spanish Speaker to help Spanish speakers improve their English language skills. The series contains four workbooks and four CDs.

Each workbook in the series has eight lessons. In Books 1 and 2, the lessons are about every day activities.  In Books 3 and 4, four lessons are about every day activities and the other four are about United States history or government.  The print in the workbooks is large.  The reading level in Book 1 is at the first and second grade level.  The books get progressively more difficult. The reading level for Book 4 is at the fourth grade reading level.  Each lesson begins with a vocabulary list, then a conversation, story, activity pages, and finally an answer key. The lessons are bilingual with the word lists, conversations, and stories presented in Spanish and English.  The directions for the activity pages are in Spanish but the activities are in English.  There are two dictionaries at the back of each workbook: a Spanish dictionary and an English dictionary. There is a CD available for each workbook so the student can listen to the vocabulary lists, conversations and stories in English.

Adults like our workbooks because the pace is not too fast, print is large but the content is for adults.

Visit us on line at www.Fisher-Hill.com to learn more about our English for the Spanish Speaker series.

U.S. Citizenship Workbooks for Spanish Speakers on Sale

Fisher Hill’s two workbooks called U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers are on sale during the month of April. The books are only $12.00 marked down from $15.95.  Visit us on line at www.Fisher-Hill.comand put in the coupon code 4118 on the check-out page.

 U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers by Fisher Hill is an excellent two workbook series for Spanish speakers. These workbooks can be used as a stand-alone program or as a supplementary aid to give Spanish speakers extra practice in U.S. history, government, integrated civics, English writing and reading.

The U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers series helps Spanish speakers pass the English writing, reading and civics portions of the U.S. Citizenship Exam.  To pass these three sections: applicants must be able to write correctly one sentence dictated by the interviewer; read out loud correctly one sentence given by the interviewer; and answer six out of ten civics questions given by the interviewer. The applicant will have three opportunities to write correctly a dictated sentence and three opportunities to read out loud correctly a sentence given by the interviewer.

U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers Book 1 gives Spanish speakers information to pass the American Government questions on the Civics test. U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers Book 2 gives Spanish speakers information to pass the American History and Integrated Civics questions on the Civics test. The Civics Test includes 100 questions about government, history and integrated civics.  Applicants will be asked 10 questions.  The Civics test is an oral test.    One or more of the 10 civics questions may be about the current people holding different government offices.  Applicants will need to know the names of the people holding the current government offices. Both books provide practice to help pass the reading and writing parts of the Naturalization Test.

 To become a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident must:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Have lived in the U.S. continuously for five years.
• Be able to speak, write, read and understand basic English.
• Answer questions that demonstrate knowledge of U.S. government and history.
• Undergo a successful background check.
• Demonstrate attachment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution.
• Take the oath of citizenship swearing allegiance to the U.S.

The filing fee is sometimes waived for applicants with family incomes below 150% of the poverty line or if the applicants are experiencing a financial hardship that prevents them from paying the fee (such as unexpected medical bills. Fisher Hill’s two workbooks called U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers are on sale during the month of April 2018. Visit us on line at www.Fisher-Hill.com and put in the coupon code 4118 on the check-out page to take advantage of this great sale during the month of April 2018.

Citizenship Classes

Naturalization is an important milestone in the path toward U.S. citizenship. The decision to apply for citizenship is a very personal one. To help you prepare, many community organizations and social service providers offer citizenship classes and assistance with the naturalization process. Search by zip code or address to find an English and/or citizenship class near you. Many school districts and other agencies offer free citizenship classes. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services also offer classes.  Google “citizenship classes” to find a class near you.

Many libraries offer citizenship classes.  If not, they will have computers where you can Google “citizenship classes” to find a class near you.

These citizenship classes help legal residents pass the citizenship test given by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Once a person has passed the test and has become a citizen he/she can assume full participation in U.S. civic society. Through the citizenship programs, adults learn about U.S. history and government and are encouraged to take the citizenship exam. When enrolling in a class a person should bring his/her Permanent Resident Card.

Becoming a citizen in the United States is a great accomplishment. As a citizen, you can vote in national elections and contribute to your community. Research also shows individuals who naturalize, or become citizens, often make more money and have better job opportunities.

There are also citizenship classes online.  If a person does not have access to a computer, he/she can use a computer at his/her local library.

U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers by Fisher Hill is an excellent two workbook series for Spanish speakers. These workbooks can be used as a stand-alone program or as a supplementary aid to give Spanish speakers extra practice in U.S. history, government, integrated civics, English writing and reading.

In the month of April, both workbooks have been marked down from $15.95 to $12.00. Visit us on line at www.Fisher-Hill.com and put in the coupon code 4118 on the check-out page.

Social Studies Textbook Adoption

California is adopting new Social Studies textbooks this year.  Fisher Hill has an excellent bilingual supplementary textbook for U.S. history and geography called United States of America Stories, Map, Activities in Spanish and English.  This is a series of four workbooks.

The workbooks help students improve their literacy in English, Spanish, history, and geography.  Each workbook includes stories, maps, and activities in Spanish and English.

Each state is presented by a story, then a vocabulary and comprehension page, next a map with questions, and finally a chart, table, graph, or another type of activity which presents information to the reader.  Most stories deal with a historic topic. The stories are about men and women from different racial groups who have helped build this nation. The words and questions on the vocabulary and comprehension page are to be used in conjunction with the story.  The map shows some of the major cities, rivers, and products of that state.  The charts, tables, and graphs present information for students to read and use.

In Book 1, the twelve states covered are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, and Idaho. Topics in Book 1 include:

Civil Rights

Colonial Life

Colonization

Congress

Declaration of Independence

Disney World

Earthquakes

Exxon Valdez

Famous People
Ghost Towns
Glaciers
Jamestown
Kennedy Space Center
Mining
Missions
Native Americans
Pearl Harbor
Supreme Court
Taxes
World War I
World War II

 In Book 2, the thirteen states covered are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi and Missouri. Topics in Book 2 include:

American Revolution
Automobile Age
Civil War
Congress
Declaration of Independence
Droughts
Environmental Protection
Famous People
Farming
Great Fire of Chicago
Jazz Age
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Ku Klux Klan
Native Americans
Pilgrims
Pony Express
Reconstruction
Slavery
World War 1
World War II

In Book 3, the thirteen states covered are Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania.  Topics in Book 3 include:

Civil War
Dust Bowl
Famous People
Great Depression
Homestead Act
Hoover Dam
Industrial Revolution
Kitty Hawk
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Native Americans
Pioneers
Railroads
Space
Thirteen Colonies
Underground Railroad
Vietnam War
World War II

World War IIIn Book 4, the twelve states covered are Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the nation’s capital Washington D.C. Topics in Book 4 include:

Cattle Drives

Civil War
Coal Mining
Cowboys
Famous People
Farming
Great Depression
Jamestown
Native Americans
New Deal
Railroads
Slavery
Timber Industry
Tourism
Women’s Suffrage

These four workbooks provide an excellent overview of U.S. history and geography.

Visit us on line at www.Fisher-Hill.com to learn more about our United States of America Stories, Map, Activities in Spanish and English series.

Spring Special!

For the month of April, Fisher Hill’s U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers workbooks will have a special price.  Instead of $15.95, the books will be $12.00. Visit us online at www.Fisher-Hill.com and put in the coupon code 4118 when you checkout.

The U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers series helps Spanish speakers pass the English writing, reading and civics portions of the U.S. Citizenship Exam.  To pass these three sections: applicants must be able to write correctly one sentence dictated by the interviewer; read out loud correctly one sentence given by the interviewer; and answer six out of ten civics questions given by the interviewer.  The applicant will have three opportunities to write correctly a dictated sentence and three opportunities to read out loud correctly a sentence given by the interviewer.

 U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers Book 1gives Spanish speakers information to pass the American Government questions on the Civics test. U.S. Citizenship for Spanish Speakers Book 2 gives Spanish speakers information to pass the American History and Integrated Civics questions on the Civics test. The Civics Test includes 100 questions about government, history and integrated civics.  Applicants will be asked 10 questions.  The Civics test is an oral test.    One or more of the 10 civics questions may be about the current people holding different government offices.  Applicants will need to know the names of the people holding the current government offices. Both books provide practice to help pass the reading and writing parts of the Naturalization Test.
Go to our website at www.Fisher-Hill.com to get the Spring Special.  Each workbook is only $12.00 instead of $15.95!  Use the coupon code 4118 to get the discount when you check out.

Never Too Old!

This weekend two friends and I are taking a Wilderness First Aid class. The class is nine hours each day with an hour for lunch.  We start at 8 o’clock in the morning and end at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.  One friend is 75 years old, the other is 73 and I’m 65.  Needless to say, we are the oldest in the group of thirty students. I figure: you’re never too old to learn.

Fisher Hill’s books are geared toward older students.  The content in the books are for older students.  All of the books are workbooks and are designed to be done in a classroom setting or done individually at home. Most of the workbooks have many pictures. All of the workbooks have large print and the pace of the learning is reasonable.

Fisher Hill has a literacy program, an ESL series, a USA history and geography series, a citizenship series, a series to learn Spanish, and a health book.  All are aimed at Spanish speakers but any student can benefit from these series if they want to learn English.

Fisher Hill’s English Literacy Program has six levels.  Each level has four workbooks.

Reading and Spelling

Comprehension

Writing

Vocabulary

Each level begins with the Reading and Spelling workbook.  In the Reading and Spelling workbooks, the students practice decoding skills.  In the Comprehension and Writing workbooks, students practice fluency, comprehension and writing skills using the words learned in the Reading and Spelling workbooks.  In the Vocabulary workbooks, the vocabulary from the Reading and Spelling, Comprehension and Writing workbooks is reviewed.

Fisher Hill’s English Literacy Program

Fisher Hill’s English for the Spanish Speaker series is four workbooks Each book in the series has eight lessons.  In Books 1 and 2, the lessons are about every day activities.  In Books 3 and 4, four lessons are about every day activities and the other four are about United States history or government.  The print in the workbooks is large.  The reading level in Book 1 is at the first and second grade level.  The books get progressively more difficult.  The reading level for Book 4 is at the fourth grade reading level.  Each lesson begins with a vocabulary list, then a conversation, story, activity pages, and finally an answer key. The lessons are bilingual with the word lists, conversations, and stories presented in Spanish and English.  The directions for the activity pages are in Spanish but the activities are in English.  There are two dictionaries at the back of each workbook: a Spanish dictionary and an English dictionary. There is a CD available for each workbook so the student can listen to the vocabulary lists, conversations and stories in English.

Fisher Hill’s ESL Series

Fisher Hill’s United States of America Stories, Maps, Activities in Spanish and English series provides an overview of U.S. history and geography. Activities include charts, graphs, tables, maps and comprehension and vocabulary questions. Each workbook contains information on twelve to thirteen states. Stories and activities are in Spanish and English.

Fisher Hill’s United States of America Stories, Maps, Activities in Spanish and English series

Visit us on line at www.Fisher-Hill.com to learn more all of our workbooks. And don’t forget you are never too old.